Every cell in our body has exactly the same DNA, yet every cell is different. A cell's identity is determined by the subset of genes that it activates. But how does a cell know which genes to turn off and ...

A duo of scientists at Penn State University has achieved a major milestone in understanding how genomic "dark matter" originates. This "dark matter"—called non-coding RNA—does not contain the blueprint ...

Mitochondrial Eve and Y-chromosomal Adam—two individuals who passed down a portion of their genomes to the vast expanse of humanity—are known as our most recent common ancestors, or MRCAs. But many aspects ...

Powdery mildew is one of the most dreaded plant diseases: The parasitic fungus afflicts crops such as wheat and barley and is responsible for large harvest shortfalls every year. Beat Keller and Thomas Wicker, ...

(Phys.org) —The genes that code for proteins—more than 20,000 in total—make up only about 1 percent of the complete human genome. That entire thing—not just the genes, but also genetic junk and all ...

Genes make up about 2 percent of the human genome. The rest consists of a genetic material known as noncoding DNA, and scientists have spent years puzzling over why this material exists in such voluminous ...

UCLA life scientists have created an accurate new method to identify genetic markers for many diseases—a significant step toward a new era of personalized medicine, tailored to each person's DNA and RNA.

Striving to unravel and comprehend DNA's biological significance, Cornell scientists have created a new computational method that can identify positions in the human genome that play a role in the proper ...

For the first time, researchers have succeeded in amplifying genes altered by activities such as smoking—with changes that can lead to lung cancer. As the amplified genes retain the altered information, ...

Ancient DNA extracted from the bones and teeth of giant lemurs that lived thousands of years ago in Madagascar may help explain why the giant lemurs went extinct. It also explains what factors make some surviving ...